Coltart Calls On Chamisa & Mnangagwa To Compromise And Meet Halfway

The opposition MDC’s treasurer-general David Coltart has called on President Emmerson Mnangagwa and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, to compromise and scale down their positions in order to resolve the country’s political crisis.

The weekly publication The Standard reports that Coltart also said that the dialogue has to be between Zanu-PF and MDC, the powerful political players in the country, although small opposition parties can be accommodated as well.

In an interview with Alpha Media Holdings chairman Trevor Ncube on the platform In Conversation with Trevor, Coltart said,

I think both leaders have to park that issue. In other words, Emmerson Mnangagwa mustn’t be insisting that he be recognised.

Nelson Chamisa must say okay, I dispute that, but I am going to park this issue for the national interest so that we can get to the substantive issue because if both stand on their respective positions, it’s going to be difficult for dialogue to be pursued.

What we believe though is that the playing field is uneven at present. We think — and I think justifiably — there are two dominant political parties in the country and two dominant political leaders, Nelson Chamisa and Emmerson Mnangagwa, and this is borne out of the election
results.

So the dialogue has to be primarily between those two parties and two leaders. But it cannot be a walk-down. Both of the protagonists need a neutral interlocutor who can ensure that there is fair play. A neutral referee or umpire.